The Search
by Latiasos
Summary: Aang leaves the Southern Water Tribe, leaving only a letter to his son. When his son turns 9, and is allowed to read the letter, people begin to wonder if Aang really had a reason to leave.. Kataang.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Letter.

_By the time you read this, I'll be gone. Long gone. I've told everyone, they need to hide this from you until you start asking questions, until you're old enough to understand. I didn't want to leave- and I definitely didn't leave because of you. Even though you're only a few weeks old, I love you with all my heart. You're so precious, I feel as if one hit from a raindrop could snap you in two. I left this letter because I had to go, and I didn't want to leave you in the darkness. You'll grow up and understand eventually. _

_As you grow up, the Tribe will tell many stories of the Hundred Years War, and two people in particular will delve deeper than the generic tales. They'll tell you details of every hardship- every battle- every downfall. They experienced it first hand. They experienced it with me. I'm not only your father, but the Avatar. That's why I had to leave. I have many duties now, in the years post-war. The war ended only three short years ago, and I still have many things to resolve. It wouldn't have been fair to drag you and your mother along. One day I will come back. You'll be a lot older, and you'll realise why everything had to happen the way it did. _

_As your father, there are a lot of things I should be teaching you. Sokka, and the other men of the tribe will be able to help you with such things. I, however, am going to teach you one of lifes most important lessons through this letter. Not only am I writing this to help you, but to delay my departure. You sit here, sleeping, head resting on my lap. I don't want to leave this behind. Your mother is down by the river, teaching bending to little children. She'll teach you one day, too. She doesn't know I'm leaving, I couldn't bring myself to tell her, it would break both our hearts. I'll be gone by the time she returns home. All that will be left of me is this letter._

_One of the most important lessons in life, is to follow your heart and never give up. Your mother will tell you of how we met. And our trip to the Northern Water Tribe. I'm going to tell you about the romantic aspect of our travels. A fortuneteller known as Aunt Wu once told your mother she'd marry a powerful bender. I heard the conversation, and decided to take it into my own hands to make it happen. _

_We first kissed after we left the North. On our way to Omashu. Ask your mother about the Cave of the Two Lovers. She'll tell you the story. We kissed then, because we believed it would help us find our way out. Looking back now, we were both using that as an excuse. Mutual attraction was the real reason we kissed. After the event, we never really spoke of it. When your mother didn't object to the kiss, it drove me to try again._

_The next kiss was many months later, on the Day of the Black Sun. During the invasion, shortly before I left to find Ozai. I knew there was the chance that one of us may not return. I couldn't live with myself if I hadn't kissed her. Too many feelings would have been left unspoken. Yet again, nothing came of the kiss. Your mother acted as if it never happened. _

_Our next kiss was at the showing of The Boy in the Iceberg on Ember Island. I was mad at the show, for depicting a kiss between Zuko and your mother, and for depicting a non-romantic relationship between us. We spoke about our kiss at the invasion- I kissed her again, despite her telling me she was confused. I couldn't help myself. She was mad at me for that._

_The next kiss we shared was the best of all. Shortly after the war ended, she approached me on the balcony of Iroh's teashop. We only had to look at each other before we were pulling each other into a kiss. This was the kiss that began our relationship. The kiss that reminded me of everything I'd been through to get this. It just shown me that no matter what, in the end, your heart will guide you home. _

_There are more stories I'd like you to hear about. The Desert and the Guru. Even though your mother will tell you many stories, I've asked her to leave those two for me to tell you when you're older. I can only hope she retains this agreement, even after I leave. _

_I should leave now, I have things to do. It breaks my heart to go, but I must. I love you and your mother with all my heart, Kuzon. _

* * *

WOOHOO. First chapter. This is the letter Aang wrote to his son Kuzon (named for the friend Aang had as a child, I didn't wanna use a name from Korra for his kid, I have plans.) when he had to leave the Southern Water Tribe. I don't know where this fic came from, whatever. I guess I had the idea of a father writing to his son from reading Letter to Daniel in English class. I like the idea.

~Latiasos.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Discovery.

**Sorry, I forgot your name, but whoever said that Kuzon being Zuko's son might be a good plot twist etc, yeah, that was in my original redraft for this, but I decided against it. **

**Also, if I drew some scenes from this fic and posted them on my deviantART would you guys think it'd help?**

**This is just a redraft of one of the first fanfics I ever written on the Nick message boards. Back then, when I was eight or nine, it was considered insane for Aang and Katara to have a child named anything other than Kataang (woo, we were so creative back then xD). So obviously I had to think of a name, but I didn't want to use Kya/Bumi/Tenzin. My first idea for a name was Gyatso or something similar, like someone from Aangs past, like Bumi. I then thought Aang wouldn't do that, because there could only be one Gyatso.. So I used Kuzon, after his friend from the Fire Nation :3**

_**¬Nine Years Later¬**_

"Sokka.. You give him it."

"I cant Katara. Its too personal," Sokka took a step back and held his hand in front of his face. "Aang left that for Kuzon. More specifically, for YOU to give to Kuzon."

"I can't, I don't know how," Katara sighed, tightening her grip on the scroll. "I don't know what to say when I give him it, I don't know if I should stay with him while he reads it-"

Sokka quickly stepped forward and covered Katara's mouth with his hand, as he could tell she was about to ramble and distress herself. Her eyes were already teary. Sokka closed his eyes and sighed.

"Just walk into his room, tell him his dad left it. Give him it. If he wants you to stay, he'll ask you to," explained Sokka with a warm smile. He dropped his hand, and scratched the back of his neck. "Go do it now. Better sooner than later."

Katara smiled at her brother and nodded. She had always known this was going to be a personal thing between her and Kuzon, but she had always dreaded it. What if he asked questions? She knew no more than he did. She was unsure of her status with Aang and she had no idea when he'd return. The most she could to was tell stories- something she'd been doing Kuzon's whole life.

She slowly walked into his room, the scroll tightly gripped in her hand.

"Mom? Whatever Yu told you isn't true, I didn't break anything!"

Katara laughed at her son's paranoia. She knew fine well every time he was with Yu they managed to break something. Why they continued to lie, she never knew.

"I'm not here about that," she said quietly, sitting next to Kuzon on his bed. "I'm here to give you this. Sokka and I spoke, and we decided you're old enough to read this now."

Kuzon's hands shook as he reached out to take the scroll. He didn't know what it was, but it intrigued him greatly. He knew there had been a locked box with a scroll in it that sat by Katara's bed, but he never worked out what the scroll was.

"Your dad left this.. Before he left."

"I.. I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just read." Katara instructed, standing up and heading for the door. She had a feeling Kuzon wanted to be alone.

**Oh hello there again, fanfic readers. Sorry this isn't too long, I decided to split the document into two chapters, because I start back school tomorrow (shoot me) so I wont have time to write but I still want to update. **

**~Latiasos**


	3. Chapter 3

ChapterThree: The Plans.

Kuzon slowly made his way down the scroll. He'd always known his dad was Avatar Aang.. Well, not always, he found out when he was four after he began to airbend. He had always thought his dad didn't know about him.

"I don't believe it.."

Kuzon rolled up the scroll, and fell back on his bed. He was sympathetic for Aang after reading the letter, he hadn't wanted to leave. It wasn't his choice.

In the space of five minutes, he had went from being a boy who's dad didn't know existed, to a boy who's dad left because of duty and calling.

Kuzon lay silent for a few minutes, before pulling himself up and heading into the main room to speak to Katara. She was sitting cross-legged on a rug, using her bending to stir a pot of soup.

"Mom? I.. I don't know what to think about this..." murmured Kuzon, kneeling next to Katara and handing the scroll back. "Dad.. Dad did know about me?"

"Yes, he did. I just.. Didnt tell you incase you didnt understand. He was so happy when you were born... I'd never seen him so happy."

"I want to find him."

"Kuzon, don't even think about it. He's coming back. He told you so in the letter."

"But mom!" Kuzon said loudly, jumping to his feet. "What if he isn't back soon enough. What if something happened to him? What if he forgot about me.. About us!"

Katara dropped her hand, causing the soup to splash a little. Even if Aang did leave, she knew he would never have forgotten about her.

"Kuzon. Listen to me. Aang would never have forgotten about us. He loves you so much. Go speak to Sokka. He'll tell you the exact same thing I will- Aang loved me pretty much from the moment he seen me. I can't imagine him forgetting about me," Katara let her head fall as to hide her watery eyes from her son. "I really don't think he would."

Realising he had upset her, Kuzon let out a loud sigh. He slowly walked over to her and hugged her. She had comforted him whenever he cried about Aang. Now it was his turn to repay the favour.

"I'm sorry mom..." Kuzon murmured quietly, tightening his hug. "I didn't mean it. Sokka told me all the stories."

Katara lifted her head and broke free of Kuzon's hug. She wiped her eyes with the side of her hand, and quickly returned to her bending.

Realising that he wasn't going to get a response, Kuzon left the house in search for Yu or someone else to speak to. As he crossed the icy landscape, slipping every so often, the idea of leaving to find Aang became more and more prominent in his mind.

_Yay, another short and slightly Derpy update. Yeah, I updated this from my English class when I had a free period today. Any mistakes, blame the iPhone :3 I'll have a decent update tomorrow, with it bring a Friday. This is just a filler... Sorry about that :c_

_~Latiasos_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: The Departure.

Kuzon grabbed a rope tightly and pulled, hoping and praying that the knot would undo. After a few seconds of pulling, the knot finally became loose.

"Ugh," Kuzon sighed, wiping his forehead. "I don't have time for this."

Taking a step back, he took a deep breath and fired a very uncontrolled and tough air blast at the ropes attaching the canoe to the ice floe.

"Damn."

Kuzon had never learned how to control his airbending, and soon learned that he couldn't cut the ropes with his haphazard air blasts. After a few more minutes of trying to untie and untangle the ropes, he gave up and started walking back to the village.

"Kuzon! Hey, Kuzon!"

"What is it, Sokka?" smirked Kuzon. He didn't even need to look to know it was Sokka- the voice and the speed of the crunching snow that accompanied it made it clear enough. A loud thud was heard and Kuzon turned to see Sokka lying face-down in the snow.

"White... Fox... Snow..." Sokka mumbled through the snow covering his face.

"Oh, I'm gonna go see!" Kuzon started running in the direction Sokka had came from, only he was more careful to look out for hard packed snow. Eventually he reached the outer wall of the village, and stopped to rest. Looking around, he could see a black speck moving on a snow pile.

"I bet it's the fox's nose." Kuzon said to himself, sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground. He'd never tried to tame an animal from the tundra before, but he needed a companion. And being bitten by a fox was a risk he was willing to take for the cause.

After getting his breath back, Kuzon started to run towards the fox. As he approached it, it shivered slightly and bounded towards him.

"Whoa, watch out," Kuzon laughed, jumping to the side. "C'mere?" he added sweetly, holding out his arms.

"Kuzon! Watch out!" Sokka yelled, running towards them, boomerang held above his head threateningly.

"Calm down Sokka, he's harmless."

The fox was now sitting by Kuzon's feet, swishing his tail across the snow.

"What? Huh, I guess he is," Sokka admitted, putting his boomerang back into the pouch.

"Sokka.. Do you know where my dad is.." Kuzon asked hopefully, in a sing-song way.

"Last I heard he was in the Fire N- NO. I don't know where he is. No one does, Kuzon."

Kuzon smiled to himself, then quickly sighed and sat cross-legged. He knew he had to act upset or Sokka would know he'd heard. Sokka, at a loss of how to react, slowly backed off towards town. Once he was out of sight, Kuzon jumped up and ran towards the ice floe again.

"Are you coming or not?" he called to the fox, who abruptly started running after him. Smiling, Kuzon slowed down to allow the creature to catch up.

After a brisk two or three minute run, they reached the ice floe, and the canoe Kuzon had been trying to untie. The fox sat, head tilted to one side, and watched him fumble with the ropes again. After a few minutes, and a few undone knots, the fox began chewing on a rope. Noticing this, Kuzon laughed.

"You're a helpful little guy, aren't you? I don't think that'll w-"

In seconds, the rope had been severed and the fox started on another rope. Shaking his head in amazement, Kuzon let him carry on.

Once all the ropes had been severed, the fox hopped into the canoe, and looked at Kuzon happily.

"I need to give you a name, dont I?" Kuzon asked, pushing the canoe from the edge of the floe and jumping in. "Wait, I'm talking to a fox. You can't speak, this can't be good for my sanity... Wait, now I'm talking to myself."

He could already tell this was going to be a very long journey.

**YAY. Okay so I'm typing this on a train so spelling mistakes and stuff I blame autocorrect. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, world of fanfiction. Guess who remembered this story existed? Heh, I'm sorry. School's an extreme bitch. Worse for me this year, because in the UK, where I live, you take your first exams at 15/16. And I turned 15 yesterday. So yeah... Homework has been piled on! I'm off school this week though, so every spare second I get, there will be an update! **

* * *

Chapter Five: What Have I Gotten Myself Into...

After five or six days of rough sea travel within a canoe, Kuzon was beginning to regret his decision of leaving the tribe.

"I miss mom, Sleet," Kuzon sighed, pulling the ball of white fluff into his arms. Sleet wriggled restlessly- he was enjoying this even less than Kuzon. Releasing the fox, Kuzon whimpered slightly. He wished with all his heart that he hadn't came. None of this had been thought through. The only thing that offered Kuzon comfort at these times was knowing that he was the leader- he had to protect Sleet.

As the canoe drifted almost aimlessly through the iceberg ridden water, a dark cloud was moving ominously overhead. A storm was most definitely coming. Sleet could sense this- he held his head low and curled up under the canoe's bench. Kuzon giggled and gently pulled Sleet out.

"It's fine Sleet! We're in a Water Tribe canoe! They're the closest to unsinkable that you'll get!" he laughed, scratching behind his ears fondly. The look on Sleet's face at the time was as if he was saying 'yeah, the Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, look what happened there.'

Droplets of rain slowly started to fall on the canoe, accompanied by an obnoxiously loud pattering noise. Sleet once again curled up and hid. Kuzon glared through the raindrops, desperately looking for land.

"There has to be an island," he stuttered, hit by a sudden blast of cold, icy air. Sleet whined, shaking even through his fur. "Sleet, it's fine," Kuzon yelled, almost angrily. He grabbed the paddle of the canoe and plunged it into the icy water, furiously trying to make progress. This was far too much for him now. He was tired, the weather was deteriorating quickly, and Sleet was getting on his last nerve.

After a short burst of his furious paddling, Kuzon grumbled and sighed. Exhaustion getting the better of him, he fell backwards and blacked out.

_Im_ _sorry this isn't long at all, I haven't been able to access my laptop, and uploading from my iPhone isn't my favourite thing to do... The next chapter is longer and more important though._


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter Six- I don't believe it._**

_So, after complaining endlessly about updating from my phone, I yet again find myself on a 2-hour train journey typing away on the ol' iPhone._

Kuzon slowly attempted to lift his head. He had no idea where he was, and only a rough idea of how he got there. Sleet soon ran towards him, his fur tainted with mud and grit.

"This isn't the Water Tribe, is it?" Kuzon smiled weakly, shaking slightly as he pulled himself to his feet. "Where is this?"

Surveying his surroundings, Kuzon found himself on a rocky, muddy beach surrounded by tall cliffs that went beyond the cloud barrier. The canoe was wedged on a rock, but miraculously unscathed.

"I say we climb." Kuzon said firmly, pointing towards an unstable looking path at the cliffs. It didnt go all the way up, but it went far enough, he could stumble up the rest, there were enough ridges.

Sleet looked at his friend with a look of disbelief, but put any feelings aside and headed for the path. Kuzon ran after him, and started to edge up the path. It seemed stable enough. The weather had cleared up considerably, and the sun was shining brightly. This increased the journeys difficulty considerably.

"This path seems like it's been... burned out of the cliff," Kuzon mumbled, his hand tracing the wall. "It's all singed, and covered in soot." as he pulled his hand away, he found it covered in black dust.

Sleet, who had ran ahead, returned to Kuzon, almost completely covered in soot. This caused Kuzon to laugh uncontrollably, before bending down to attempt to clean the fox's fur.

Kuzon sighed deeply and sat down with his legs dangling off the edge of the cliff. After a horrible, energy draining climb, he had made it to the top. Sleet was lying beside him, panting.

"I still don't know where we are, boy," Kuzon said, scratching Sleet behind his ears. "I was hoping I could work it out but..."

"What do you mean you don't know where you are?!"

Kuzon and Sleet both jumped, and quickly turned to see who was speaking to them. A girl, younger than Kuzon, was standing a few feet behind them, grinning.

"Before you ask, I'm Kyan. Kee-yan, not Kian, not K-y-an," she went through multiple different pronunciations of her name, before taking a breath and smiling at Kuzon again.

"Okay, Kyan, uhm-"

"Let me finish," she snapped, before continuing. "I know who YOU are, Kuzon of the Southern Water Tribe. And you should know where you are."

"I don't, is this place really that... well known?"

"No, you idiot. It's not well known, but you of all people should know. You should recognise where you are," Kyan muttered, crossing her arms. "I'm quite ashamed that you don't. Look around. Breathe. Feel."

Kuzon slowly stood up and followed Kyan's instruction. He took in every detail and then turned back to Kyan. She was right. He felt.. safe here.

"This is an Air Temple, isn't it, Kyan?"


End file.
